Sept. 20 (Bloomberg) -- Cie. Financiere Richemont SA has
appointed an adviser to sell its luxury leather-goods brand
Lancel, the maker of Brigitte Bardot handbags, according to two
people familiar with the matter.

Richemont hired investment bank Nomura Holdings Inc. to
help sell the brand, said the people, who asked not to be
identified because the information is confidential. Lancel could
be worth about 500 million euros ($668 million), according to
one of the people.

Private-equity firms and strategic investors are interested
in Lancel, the people said. Richemont’s controlling shareholder,
Johann Rupert, said this year that the company should have been
quicker to cull bad investments and the head of fashion and
accessories quit the following week, fueling speculation
Richemont may break up the division.

“The divestment of Lancel would be seen as a positive step
as it would confirm that Richemont is willing to tackle their
underperforming businesses,” Rene Weber, an analyst at Bank
Vontobel, wrote in a note to investors. He estimates Lancel
would be worth 200 million euros.

The stock rose 0.2 percent to 94.75 Swiss francs as of
10:09 a.m. in Zurich. The shares have gained 57 percent in the
past year.

Richemont got control of the Paris-based brand when its
Vendome unit bought it for 342 million francs ($375 million) in
1997. The biggest market for Lancel is France, where economy is
forecast to barely expand for a second year in 2013 amid
Europe’s financial woes.